


A Family Affair

by skybean



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Allen and Neah as twins, Alternate Universe- Twins, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Trans Female Character, Trans Girl Allen Walker
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2018-09-26 18:42:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9915953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skybean/pseuds/skybean
Summary: In another time, Neah's memories aren't saved inside of Allen.  Instead, Neah Walker wakes up with no memories of the past, and a person who he calls 'sister'.  Allen Walker isn't alone in this life, even when the world seems a little darker than it should be.  (twins au.  trans girl allen au.  primarily follows manga canon, with some elements from the anime.)





	1. Neah.  Meeting Cross.

“He’s right over here, sir!”

A child tugged a member of the Black Order down a normally-busy road to an intersection.  The child made a beeline for another child, slightly covered in snow.

“Allen’s hurt, but he hasn’t moved in hours, Mr. Marian!  He won’t respond to anything, and I’ve been trying to get him to move ever since the man in the hat left, but he won’t say anything!  Is he going to be alright?”

* * *

  
Neah Walker sat across an office desk from the man who had helped him carry his brother back to the Church.  He had screamed for help for what had felt like hours, with no response until he had reached a church, with a priest being kind and willing enough to have this man help him.

Now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off, however, Neah was beginning to shiver from hours in the cold, snowy environment, and he found it was slightly hard to string thoughts together--though if that was from how suddenly tired he felt, or something else, he didn’t know.

“The priest already told you my name.”  Mr. Cross Marian sighed in disappointment as he folded his hands together.  “What’s yours?  And your brother’s?”

“I’m Neah. Neah Walker.”  Neah kicked his feet anxiously.  “He’s Allen Walker.  Mr. Marian, why won’t he say anything, is he going to be okay--?”

“Kid--Neah.”  Cross sighed softly, giving Neah a long, melancholy look.  “I’m going to need you to tell me what happened, in order for me to help your brother.”

“Well the monster yelled at him,”  began Neah, trying to not cry,  “and the man in the hat made him kill Mana and Allen won’t--”

“Neah.”

Neah froze, the out-of-order events of the day stopping from his mouth, before Neah did begin to cry.  He curled up in the chair he sat in, beginning to wipe at his face, as if he could somehow stem the tears.

“Start in order,”  Cross softly murmured,  “What happened to you two?”

Neah swallowed and took a moment to get his tears under control, confused to when the glass of water was pushed into his hand.  However, he didn’t question it, and took a long sip, before he began.

“Mana--our dad--he…  He died today.”  Neah took another sip and looked at his feet, whispering in a detached way,  “And then…  We…  We were both just really sad.  Mana was all we had, it was just him and us, and…”  Neah laughed softly, taking another sip of the water.

“The man in the hat showed up--you know, he’s really big, and has that coat and the long face and the umbrella?--and well.  He asked us if we wanted Mana back.  And… And Allen said yes.”

Neah shivered and put the glass on the desk.  “But it wasn’t Mana, right?  But… It felt like it was.  And then when Mana came back, he…  He screamed at us, and cursed Allen, and then Allen’s arm, it--it did something really weird, I can’t describe it, and he destroyed the not-Mana and we were both crying and I stopped crying because I don’t think I’ve ever cried that much in my  _ life _ , but Allen stopped talking or even noticed I was there and that was  _ hours ago _ , and--

Neah trailed off for a moment, before he whispered,  “Allen’s all I got left, sir.”

Cross sighed for a moment, quietly contemplating a moral position, before he put more water in the glass and handed it back to Neah.

“That man is known as the Millennium Earl.”

“He’s a bad man, isn’t he?”  Neah began drinking the water once more.  “Tricking people like that.”

“He is,”  agreed Cross,  “He preys on those who grieve for their dead loved ones with false promises that he can bring them back.  It’s sickening.”

Neah nodded slowly, before he bit his lip, asking,  “Is it possible to stop him?”

Cross blinked, as if he had been expecting another question, before he asked,  “Are you  _ sure _ you want to know?  You two have been through plenty.”

“What’s his plan?  What does he get out of it?  How can I prevent him from hurting someone like Allen or me ever again?!”

Cross sighed for a long moment.  “His plan is to use that grief to call back the spirits of the dead—that he doesn’t lie about—but he traps them in machines called ‘Akuma’: the Japanese word for Demon.  Akuma normally kill the person who brought them back and use their skin as a way to hide in plain sight, so that they can go unnoticed as they kill more people.  That makes more grievers, which the Earl can use, in an endless cycle.”

“That’s almost what happened to your brother.”  Cross winced, looking at the horrified look on Neah’s face.  “But there  _ are _ things that can be used to kill Akuma, and stop the Earl’s plans.”

Crosa pulled a gun out from a pocket in his coat, placing it on the desk.  “It’s called Innocence by the Church.  Frankly, I think it’s an idiotic name, but Innocence can become part of an object, or part of a person--like his arm, you said?”   


“Yes sir,”  Neah whispered, beginning to shake once more,  “Allen’s got this cross in his arm, but he’s always had problems using his arm for well, anything..”

Before Cross could continue on, Neah blurted out,  “Allen isn’t an a-ku-ma is he?!”

Cross frowned and shook his head.  “No.  Not if he destroyed Mana like you told me he did.  Besides, only humans can be cursed.”

“He destroyed Mana.”  Neah confirmed, beginning to feel himself tear up once more.  “So Allen’s okay?”

“With time, he should be.”  Cross nodded.  “People don’t heal right away from loss and trauma.  Sometimes it takes years.  But he’ll live.”

“I think I’ll settle for him being alive, sir.”  Neah swallowed.  “Oh--uhm.  Why did Allen’s hair change colours?  Is that a part of the curse?  Because his hair was a brown-red before.”

Cross smiled sadly.  “It may be, but hair can turn white or grey from stress and trauma.  It can happen to just about anyone.  It just seemed to have happened all at once for him, which may be part of the curse…”

Neah nodded, pulling his knees to his chest.  “Oh.  Okay.”  He swallowed, doing his best to not cry.  “He’s…  He’s had a long day, that’s all.  It’s just been a long day.”

“You said your name was Neah?”  Cross promptly changed the subject.  “How old are you two, Neah?”

“Yes sir,”  Neah said,  “I’m Neah Walker.  My brother is Allen Walker.  We’re…”  He trailed off, beginning to count on his fingers.  “It’s Christmas, right?  We’d be eleven.  But I’m actually thirty-five years older than Allen, because I’m the older one.”

Cross nodded, before asking  “I’m sorry--what?”

“I’m actually thirty five years older than Allen.”  Neah repeated.  “We joke about it a lot.  It makes him upset, and then he’s often all ‘Neah, shut up!!  We picked the same birthday.  You’re not that old, you jerk!’  It’s kind of funny, really.”

“And,”  Neah’s voice cracked, bordering on hysterics now, as if thinking hurt his heart too much,  “We grew up in a circus together.  We did lots of chores and stuff, and Mana was a nice clown and took us away from the circus, which was great, because the circus was  _ horrible _ , and we hated it there.”

“It’s two in the morning,”  Cross murmured softly, handing Neah a glass with a dark liquid in it.  “Drink this.  It’ll help you sleep.”

Neah did as he was told and knocked the glass back, before he gagged on the taste.

“Let’s find a nun,”  Cross stood up once Neah was ready.  “Tomorrow morning we’ll go to Liverpool.  I’ve some friends there who will be able to help you.”

Neah nodded and followed Cross, murmuring softly,  “Thank you for helping us.”

“It’s my job, kid.”  Cross said and fluffed Neah’s hair.

* * *

  
When Neah dreamt, an Akuma who looked like Allen and talked like Mana slowly tore him to pieces.

But in Neah’s waking hours, Allen did nothing, said nothing.  He just stared blankly, and Neah tended to his brother as much as possible.  The first few days--when they had arrived in Liverpool, and Cross had introduced him to ‘Mother’--Neah found himself convinced that Allen would respond soon--it would only be a matter of time, he just had to say the right thing.

Seven days, and Neah slowly found himself believing Allen was never going to respond to him.

Taking care of Allen wasn’t hard, not really.  The only hard parts was getting Allen to try to eat; because Allen would scream, and struggle, and it nearly always tore at Neah’s sad heart, to try and make Allen do something Allen didn’t want to (even if it was eating to help him stay alive.)

Neah wasn’t sure when Cross began helping him take care of Allen, only that one day, between getting many, many lessons--on how to read, or on what the Black Order did, or something like that, for Neah had instantaneously agreed to (begged to be allowed to, really) help Cross in his work--Cross was helping Neah change Allen’s bedsheets.

“...I don’t think he’s ever going to respond.”

“He will.  He just needs time.”

Neah nodded reluctantly.  Cross had said that plenty times, over the course of the week that they had spent at Mother’s home.  And every stolen glance at Allen, and the way he wouldn’t move, wouldn’t say anything--only staring helplessly at something only he could see, remaining curled up in a tight ball--gave Neah a colder and colder feeling that nestled deep in his chest.

Neah had only ever had Allen.

Once Cross had left, with a fluff to Neah’s hair and a reminder to come down for dinner, Neah crawled next to Allen.  Hugging Allen tightly, Neah fluffed Allen’s own hair after a moment.

“Allen…  Hey, Allen, it’ll be alright,”  whispered Neah pleadingly, trying to convince them both.  “Mana wanted us to keep walking, okay?  Just…  We just gotta keep walking together.  We promised him.”

“I can’t do it without you.”

But words didn’t reach Allen.   So Neah slipped away downstairs, to lessons, and dinner, and social interaction he didn’t want to have.

Neah wasn’t trying to take his own sadness out on others.  That wasn’t fair.  It wasn’t what Mana would have wanted, he had to remind himself as he put a smile on his face and sat down, beginning to eat and listen to everyone begin talking.

And so time went, and eventually, the snow melted.  


	2. Magic.  Tools of the Trade.

Eventually, the world stopped snowing.  As the world warmed up, Cross brought Neah outside, with the excuse of ‘being cooped up indoors around your brother constantly won’t make you feel better.’  Neah had been apt to agree, with Cross showing Neah science, and the way the natural world worked.  Once Neah had taken to that though, Cross began another lesson.

“You’re going to need to learn to defend yourself.”  Cross began lecturing in the warm April weather.  “Not just from humans, but from Akuma, as well.”

“I thought only Innocence and other Akuma could destroy Akuma.”  Neah frowned as he watched Cross.

“I said defend yourself,”  clarified Cross,  “Not destroy.  You’re right--only Innocence and Akuma can destroy Akuma.  But ideally, learning what I’m going to be teaching you will help you protect yourself long enough to get back to an Exorcist.”

“You’re going to learn some magic.”  Cross clarified.  “Which is real, before you ask that question, smartass.  Mostly, it’s going to be defensive things--how to make barriers, and such--until I can trust that you’re not going to try and run off to fight the Earl by yourself.”

Neah opened up his mouth to complain, at which point Cross raised a hand in the air.  “It’s for your own good, kid.  I know you’re about to say you wouldn’t, but you’ve yet to be able to help fight an Akuma.  I can’t trust you to not lose your head, just yet.”

Neah promptly closed his mouth.  “So where do I start?”

* * *

In Neah’s defense, he couldn’t  _ pronounce _ those words Cross wanted him to.  He’d gotten one down, after days of practise--shibaribane, a barrier spell--but learning how to say the word was different from getting the spell to work.  Those took  _ focus _ , took mental energy Neah couldn’t seem to have just yet, even though he was working on his best on getting the words right.

_ It takes more than getting the words right, _  Cross had said,   _ You need to put your entire will behind it.  Magic changes the way reality is supposed to work.  It’s not going to come easy. _

Nothing, it seemed, came easy.  Not even in today’s practise, in the heat of summer--already June, and abnormally hot for one.  Normally one could wear pants and a shirt, and the weather would cooperate, but Neah wasn’t sure if he was sweating from the effort he had given out, or how hot it was.

“C’mon,”  he grumbled, raising a hand to where he had carefully set the talismans required for the spell once more, well aware that if he couldn’t get it  _ this time _ , the bug he was practising on will have moved entirely out of the spell’s range, and he’d have to reset the talismans.  Right.  Put everything behind this.

“ _ Shibaribane! _ ”  Neah invoked, closing his eyes midway through the spell, trying to envision what it would look like when it finally worked.

He expected nothing.  Not the crackle of electricity he heard, nor, when his eyes opened, the way the talismans stood up, forming a barrier the poor bug just couldn’t escape from.

It was small, but Neah had succeeded.

“I did it!”

Without waiting for anything else, Neah took off running, delighted to run through Mother’s house, yelling loudly about how he did it, he did it, he cast the spell.  A childish glee was spreading through every part of his body, especially as he ran up to tell Allen, as if even the sight of Allen’s unmoving body wouldn’t’ve been able to bring Neah’s good mood down.

It was a sight unlike any other, as Neah collided into Allen, who made a small ‘omph’, before Neah cheered loudly, unaware that Allen was hugging him back at first.

“I did it!  I did one of those spells that Master has me working on learning, so I can help you both!!  It took a week, but I finally did it, all by myself, Allen!”

“Neah…?”

At the sound of Allen saying his name, Neah’s eyes widened with an even bigger hope.  So Neah pulled away for a moment, watching Allen.  “Yeah,”  Neah squeaked out,  “It’s me, Allen.  It’s Neah.  I’m here.”

“What happened?"

The first tip that something was wrong was the accent.  It was light, barely noticeable, with something vaguely Scottish in there.  That hadn’t been how Allen talked at all; Allen’s accent was rougher, with dropped letters, and harsh words.

No, Allen’s two words sounded too much like Mana’s did.

“What do you mean what happened?”  Neah asked, feeling his throat tighten in an odd way, images of his nightmares coming to mind that he couldn’t quite push away.  “You were there--”

“No, silly,”  Allen smiled affectionately, patting Neah’s head.  “I mean ‘how did we get here’?  What happened to us?”

“A-a…  A clergyman took us in,”  Neah swallowed, pulling away from Allen uncomfortably.  Something was wrong, the way Allen was acting, and it made the boy feel more and more like he was listening to a ghost, rather than his very alive brother.

“He helped us.  We’ve been here for a few months.  It’s summertime.  Do you…  Really not remember?”

Allen should have interrupted.  But he waited til Neah was done, before he spoke.  “No, I really don’t.  I’m sorry, Neah--”

Neah ran out of the room, screaming for Cross .   
  


* * *

 

“You said he wasn’t an akuma!”  Neah shrieked accusingly as Cross closed the door to Allen’s room.  “You promised!  You said since Mana was de--gone, that nothing would happen to Allen--!”

“Neah.”  It’s said with all the energy of a man who’s about ready to hit the urge to snap, and it made Neah freeze.  “He’s not an akuma.  He’s grieving, still, like you were.  Some people express their grief differently.”

Neah bit his lip, feeling his eyes begin to water for a moment, before he wiped at them, trying to keep the tears from building up.  “Yes sir.  I understand.”  He did not, not really, but there were arguments worth having, and this was not one.

“Neah,”  Cross sighed as he crouched down to the child’s level,  “I’m not saying this to be cruel.  Your brother needs the time you’ve already had, alright?  He’s upset that he hurt you somehow.  Why don’t you go in there and talk to him?”

Neah looked at the door Cross had come out of, before he winced and nodded, slowly slinking into the room to look at Allen.

Allen, who was looking out the window, clearly an upset mess--his hair full of tangles, eyes red-rimmed from crying, and Neah did all he could think to do in that moment.  He crawled onto Allen’s bed, and hugged him tightly, softly murmuring apologies to him.

“I’m so sorry, Allen.  That was so mean of me.  I’m so sorry.  You’re going to be okay, I promise.”

* * *

“Now Innocence is--”

“Today, you two--”

“Neah, you need to--”

“Allen, raise your arm higher before--”

Traveling began not too long after that.  The group--Master Cross, his golem named Timcanpy, and the Walker twins--quickly formed a rhythm--during the day, they would walk to wherever it was Cross was heading, while they’d have lectures ranging from many, many topics.  During the evenings, they’d train--whether in combat, or to learning how to gamble (so Allen could gain finer motor control over his arm).

This pattern continued for several months, before they ever encountered any akuma.  Their first battle went about as well as it could have--Allen froze in place, screaming about something only he could see (which they’d later find out was his eye.  It was cursed, to see the souls of akuma.), Neah panicked and couldn’t remember a single spell, and Cross had to defeat the akuma, making it look as easy as shooting it once.

“We have a long way to go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is a bit shorter, but finally we're getting this show on the road!! Thanks for all the kudos, everyone, and I hope to see some comments ;w; Even if it's just 'so and so said nice fic' it really makes my day!!


	3. Allen.  The Black Order.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> life happened when i made other plans, which is why this fic took so long for this chapter. i'm so sorry. also allen's a trans girl now.

_ “Hey, Neah?”  Allen’s voice was hesitant, soft and unsure of self. _

_ “Yeah, Allen?”  Neah’s protective instincts had already awoken when Allen’s tone had come across. _

_ “There’s…  There’s something I want to tell you.”  Again, that soft hesitance, with Allen’s closed off body language.  Whatever it was, it was something  _ serious _ , Neah took note, something that Allen was very afraid of blowing up in Allen’s face. _

_ So Neah hugged Allen tightly, half-rocking his sibling for a moment.  “Yes, of course, you can tell me anything.  Nothing you can say or do would make me leave you.” _

_ “I’m a girl.” _

_ “Does this mean I can’t hit you anymore because you’re a girl now?” _

* * *

 

“You know, I think I saw a shortcut, not too long back, and Timcanpy said--”

“Allen.”

“I’m just saying Neah, maybe going right on up is the best way--”

“Allen, Timcanpy said to go all the way around, as much as Timcanpy says anything.”

The twins had been arguing this for hours.  Having been told Allen was ready to be an exorcist, Cross had knocked them both out and left them in India with Timcanpy.  They had gotten used to working as a duo, in the many months it had taken them to find London, where the Black Order’s headquarters were--

And they had even encountered the Earl, though that had ended disastrously for the both of them. While Allen had been barely able to destroy the Akuma and protect the child that still lived, they had gotten an ugly reminder of what they were in the eyes of the Earl: a pair of brats who had turned their father into an Akuma.

Allen had waited until it was just them to cry about it.

Eventually though, the pair made their way around to the front end of the bottom, and realised in horror that no, climbing  _ would _ be involved in this fun adventure.

“Why doesn’t anybody believe in doors?!”  Allen mourned for the fate of the world.

“Or stairs…”  Neah said solemnly.

The twins looked at one another for a long enough moment where time seemed to stretch out.  The silence was only broken by Allen’s deep sigh, accompanied by Allen beginning to walk towards the cliff face.

“I won't say I told you so,”  Allen wearily said,  “I’m just going to ask for help up.”

Neah nodded weakly and promptly walked over, giving Allen a boost up so Allen could begin the climb.  Once Allen was beginning, Neah jumped up to follow his sister.

The climb was long and exhausting, with the two having to stop more than once, hanging in midair.  But eventually they made it to the top, with the two grinning at one another.

“Nothing can defeat us!”  Neah crowed, throwing his arms up in victory.  “I feel phenomenal!  No enemy can conquer us, not when we can climb away!”

“Neah, shut up.”  Allen laughed, lightly shoving Neah for a moment.  “What of we run into another exorcist, huh?  They’ll  _ never _ approve your Finder application then.”

“Then I’ll go find Master and he can shame me into never having a prideful moment again!”  Neah laughed more, before he wrapped his arms around Allen, affectionately placing a rather wet kiss to her forehead.

Allen squealed for a moment, trying to push Neah away.  The two twins struggled haphazardly for a few moments, before Timcanpy slammed into both of them, pushing them apart in frustration.

“Hey…”  Neah said reluctantly, turning his head,  “Allen.  Are we  _ sure _ this is the main headquarters?”

The tower that the twins looked at spiraled high into the clouded sky, surrounded by nothing but forest for as high up as the…  well, island, that they were on was.  

“The surroundings have this weird feel to them.”  Allen muttered.  “All stories master’s told us aside.  Something just feels…”

“Uncomfortable?  Like we’re being watched?”  Neah supplied at his sister’s momentary lapse in thought.

“Yes.”  Allen nodded.  “Ahh…  Is this really the right place, Timcanpy?”

“Let’s get going,”  Neah shrugged, dusting himself up and beginning to walk towards the tower.  “Worst comes to worst, we’re in the wrong place.  Again.”

Allen laughed awkwardly and began to follow her brother.  The two walked for awhile, the path seemingly stretching out the longer and longer they traveled on it.  Eventually, they began talking again, about what they thought the Order would be like, and if it was all going to be like Cross.

* * *

_ “What do you mean, ‘a girl’?  Just so I understand.” _

_ Allen gripped Neah’s hand tightly as she looked at Cross.  “I don’t feel like I’m a boy.  I feel like it doesn’t accurately describe me at all.  Like when the last person we helped called me a young lady, things felt right, and I finally understood--I’m not a boy.  I feel more and more like when people associate masculinity with me, like I’m going to throw up.” _

_ “She’s a girl.”  Neah said, as if it wasn’t clear enough. _

_ Cross merely smiled a bit and fluffed Allen’s hair.  “Alright, Miss Walker.  Thank you for sharing with the class.” _

* * *

 

Eventually they came to a gargantuan set of double doors that had crosses engraved into them, with a face carved between them.

“Hello?”  Allen called as she knocked on the door.  “Our names are Allen and Neah Walker.  We were sent here by General Cross Marian.  We’ve something we’re supposed to discuss with the Supervisor?  General Marian sent a letter of recommendation?”

“ _ Take the examination from the gatekeeper. _ ”  Came a voice that neither of the twins could place.

Allen and Neah both looked around, before the face--that they had both believed had been carved from stone--stretched out of the door to loom over the two of them.

“Hi,”  Neah said softly, slowly reaching out to grab Allen’s hand.  “It’s nice to meet you?”

A pair of beams of light shot out from the eyes of the gatekeeper, settling at first across Neah, then across Allen, then back again, crossing over the both of the twins more than a few times, as if it was unsure of what it was looking for.  

Finally the gatekeeper screamed.  A few sirens went off, and words came from the gatekeeper’s mouth:  “One of them is an akuma!”

Neah felt his blood chill.  “What!?  No, Allen’s human!  Cursed, but human!  She has Innocence!”

“The pentacle on her forehead is a mark of the Millennium Earl,”  the gatekeeper continued,  “If she’s not an akuma, she’s a friend of the Earl’s!”

A loud clatter directed their attention away from the gatekeeper and up.  At first, all they could make out on the figure was the Exorcist uniform--similar to Cross’, but red where gold would be.  However, as the figure came lunging down to them, snarling out in a deep voice,  “You sure have courage, coming here with just two of you.”  The Walkers quickly figured out that any hope of being believed was gone.

“Wa-wait a moment!”  Allen yelled, putting her hands in the air.  “I think you’ve mistaken us--”

With no time given to reply, the Exorcist lunged.  Coming down at Allen and Neah both, as Allen began to activate her Innocence, Neah drew a few talismans.  Allen’s Innocence activated just in time, being used as a shield against the blade the Exorcist drew.

The first blow landed.  A large gash that came from about hand to elbow rendered Allen’s innocence unusable.

Allen staggered back, groaning in pain.  Neah’s eyes widened as he wrapped an arm protectively around Allen’s shoulders.  If that blade had damaged Allen’s Innocence…  Was it also Innocence?

“What’s with that arm?”  The Exorcist asked.

“It’s my Innocence.”  Allen grunted, slowly stepping away from Neah.  “I’m an exorcist in training.”

“What?”  The question came flatly, before the Exorcist rounded on the gatekeeper.  The gatekeeper began to babble excuses, before the Exorcist turned back to face the Walkers.

“Well, whatever.  If I slice you both up, we’ll see what your insides are like.”

As the Exorcist charged in this time, Neah decided to act.  “ _ Mamori bane _ !”  He yelled, throwing the talismans out with a practised ease.  After all, the Exorcist wasn’t trying to dodge.  The barrier went up, effectively trapping the Exorcist inside.

“Weren’t you listening?!”  Neah snapped, wincing as the Exorcist slammed his sword against the barrier.  Right, right, pay attention, keep that held up…

“We have a letter of recommendation that was sent ahead!”  Allen explained quickly, her innocence deactivating.  “It was addressed to the supervisor!”

There was a long moment of silence, before the doors finally opened behind them, the same voice from before saying once more,  “We allow you to pass, Allen and Neah Walker.”

Neah slumped in relief, the spell deactivating then.  The Exorcist gave Neah a somewhat uneasy glare, as if there was some sort of details Neah was unaware of.

“Come inside!”  Another Exorcist--judging by her uniform, at any rate--half-ordered.  Neah caught the glare she delivered to the male Exorcist who had attacked them.

But as Neah and Allen walked into the building, Neah could already pick up on the animosity between his sister and the male Exorcist.  But both of the Exorcists were subtly looking back at Neah.  Neah grit his teeth the slightest bit, but said nothing--he had nothing to hide, after all.  If defending Allen had been some sort of  _ unforgivable crime _ , then well, Neah would be pleading guilty.

“I’m Lenalee.”   _ Finally _ , a name for her.  “He’s Kanda.  And you’re…?”

“ _ She _ ’s Allen.”  Neah pointed, ignoring his sister’s glare.  “I’m Neah.”

Lenalee smiled--it was a polite smile, very similar to Allen’s own.  “Excellent.  I’ll be taking you both to meet the Supervisor.”

“Thank you, Miss Lenalee.”  Allen put her own smile on there, shaking Lenalee’s hand.  She turned to Kanda, holding out her hand to him.  “Ah--Kanda, right?  It’s nice to meet you.  I look forward to working with you--”

“Who the hell would want to shake hands with a cursed person?”  Kanda cut Allen off, storming away from her, down a hallway, and out of eyeshot.

“Sorry about him…”  Lenalee sighed softly,  “He just came back from a mission, and he’s still hurt.  He’s not normally  _ that  _ abrasive.”

As they went down the meandering halls of the Black Order however, it became clear to Allen that they were the whispers of more than a little gossip--and how quickly it was spreading.

“...heard one of them’s  _ cursed _ …”

“--well, there is no age requirement for innocence; look at poor Lenalee--”

“I thought the girl was older, with her hair--”

“I’ll have someone give you both a proper tour later.”  Lenalee said amongst her pointing out a few key locations as they walked.  “All Exorcists go off on missions from here, so most of us think of this place as home.  But there are some who choose to not come back…”

“ _ Like Master. _ ”  Allen and Neah said in tandem.

Lenalee smiled a bit.  “You said it, not me.”

They finally stopped in front of a door.  “Well, this is the Supervisor’s office.  I’m sure that it’ll be a quick one-two-three for Neah, so just wait out here.  I’m going to see if Doug is available to help you; I’m afraid I’m not very familiar how the Finders train their branch.”

Neah smiled at Lenalee, before Allen said,  “So what will I be doing?”

“The Supervisor has a few things for you both to do.  I’m not allowed to say, though.”   
  
Lenalee smiled and waved, walking away.  And with no other options in front of them, Allen reached forward and knocked on the door.


	4. Finders.  A Promise Made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY SHIT im so sorry this took so long I have.... Ok, I moved to Florida, a hurricane happened, I got a job, I moved again, and I found roleplaying a whole lot easier than writing. But thankfully, I found this story once again, and rediscovered my love for it, so here it is! Sorry the chapter is so short.

Allen had been taken away from Neah in a quick whirlwind.  There had been apologies, an offer to fix Allen’s arm, and Neah glaring all the while at the Supervisor--a kind man named Komui.  Allen had elbowed him, her voice apologising for her brother’s overprotective behaviour.

Komui had smiled, and forgiven Neah, saying that he was the same way himself, he understood.  But before Neah could even think of following Allen and Komui, another person--so many people today!--had arrived, and Komui had introduced them quickly.

His name was Doug.  He was shorter than Neah--honestly, too short, probably still growing--and he held himself with an aura of nervous confidence.

“Hello,”  Doug held out a hand to shake Neah’s own, quickly doing so,  “I’m Finder Captain Doug Roux.  I was told you’re our newest addition?”

“I am,”  Neah confirmed, a small smile gracing his lips in reply.  “I’m Neah Walker, sir.”

“Follow me, Neah,”  Doug smiled, beginning to lead Neah away from the door where Komui and Allen had vanished into.

Neah took one look back, wishing that he could do more to support Allen in her time of need, before he began to follow Doug.

“So, I understand you’re a student of General Cross’?”  Doug inquired lightly.

“Yes sir,”  Neah confirmed.

“You can just call me Doug.  I’m not that much older than you, I don’t think.”

“Alright, Doug.”

“How much do you know about the Finder part of the Black Order?”

Neah took a beat.  “We’re a part of the Intelligence section of the Black Order, si--Doug.  We traverse the world, studying abnormal circumstances, and determining if it’s related to Innocence.  We don’t use Innocence ourselves, since we’re not Exorcists.”

“You’d be right there,”  Doug confirmed.  “We generally work in groups, ranging anywhere from two to ten.  Our squads are named after the ranking Finder in charge, which tends to be a Captain--which is just a fancy way of saying you’ve been a Finder for more than a few years, so you know what you’re doing.”

“However, it’s not uncommon for Finders to work solo,”  continued Doug,  “so you’ll have to learn to operate without your sister, especially in the event of an Akuma attack.”

Neah nodded.  “I think I can do that.”

“Good.”

* * *

Their trip was short, with Doug showing Neah just about every inch of the area--including where Exorcists most often were, along with a warning to stay Far Far Away from Kanda.  The man didn’t like Finders much, Neah was warned, and while he worked alongside them efficiently, as a person, he was far from likeable.

Neah remembered the look of murder in his eyes, and silently agreed with Doug.  Staying away from Kanda would be for the best.

Eventually, the tour came to an end, and Doug led Neah into one last room.  “This part is the most painful,”  Doug said softly, pulling out a few forms.  “Ah--can you read and write?”

“Yeah.”  Neah nodded.  “For the most part.”

Doug nodded back, sliding the forms over,  “Mostly, you need to sign here, here, here, initial in these two parts--”  putting an ‘x’ next to every part-- “and you need to understand that you  _ are _ allowed to leave the Order at any time you wish.  However, your memories of this place will be erased.  It’s cruel, but you do understand--we are at war.  If the Earl found out you had left, and there was a chance you had knowledge of this place, he’d be able to find the Order, and destroy us all.”

Neah suddenly felt a grim air fall over him.  This part, General Cross hadn’t mentioned.  But he found himself signing anyways.  Besides, it wasn’t as if he’d abandon sweet Allen to such a fate of being alone.  Leaving Allen alone was far from Neah’s priority.

“I understand.”  Neah agreed.

Doug smiled softly.  “Then let me show you to your lodgings, and tomorrow, we’ll get you out on a mission with some other Finders.”

* * *

“A ‘Destroyer of Time’?”  Neah echoed as he laid back on Allen’s bed, looking over at his sister with a curious look.  “I wonder what that means.”

“I don’t want to know.”  Allen said softly, rubbing her temples,  “I just want to be an ordinary Exorcist, like everybody else.”

“Well, did you make any friends today?”  Neah asked softly.  “Better to have friends than enemies--and in all honesty, I think we’ve both made an enemy of Kanda.”

Allen laughed bitterly, a hollow, empty sound, uncharacteristic of her.  “Yeah.  The last thing we need is enemies around here…”

Neah was silent for a long moment, before he rolled over onto his stomach, watching Allen with an even more concerned gaze.  “C’mon.  Let’s get you some dinner.  Maybe we can meet some of the other people around here, get yourself used to how life is.  Sitting up in your room is gonna accomplish nothing.”

“But you’re leaving tomorrow, you said,”  Allen murmured, grabbing Neah’s arm.  “I don’t want to lose you--”

“Allen.”  Neah pulled Allen to stand up.  “You’re going to be fine.   _ I’m _ going to be fine.  You won’t lose me, just because I’m not there for a bit.  Besides, worst comes to worst, we can write letters.”

Allen found her eyes watering, but she stood up nonetheless.  “Right,”  said Allen,  “Let’s go get dinner.”


End file.
